CDPH Has Not Issued Hospital Safety Penalties In Nearly A Year

The California Department of Public Health has not issued an administrative penalty or fine to a hospital for endangering the lives of patients since January 2016, records show.

Altogether, the agency has issued just eight penalties so far this year, the lowest total ever.

The gap without penalties appears to be the longest since the agency was empowered with fining hospitals for lapses in patient care that endanger the lives of patients in 2007. In that year, it issued penalties to nine hospitals – more than 2016's total.

The number of penalties issued to hospitals has tapered off dramatically over the past two years. In 2015, the CDPH issued 22 penalties, and 32 in 2014. If the agency does not issue any more penalties in 2016, it would signify a 75% plunge in the number of penalties issued in two years. The number of penalties for breaches of confidential patient data have also dropped off in 2016, but not at the same rate.

In April 2014, the agency changed its regulations to include fines and penalties for hospitals that jeopardize patient safety in ways that is not life-threatening, for delaying reporting safety incidents, and for breaches of confidential patient data. It has yet to publicly issue a penalty or fine in the first two categories.

The agency told Payers & Providers earlier this year that its staff of site facility inspectors was lagging. CDPH officials said it had hired 60 new inspectors in recent months who were in the midst of training.